A revision of the spider family Stenochilidae (Arachnida, Araneae)

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A Revision of the Spider Family Stenochilidae

(Arachnida, Araneae)

NORMAN I. PLATNICK

Assistant Curator, Department of Entomology
The American Museum of Natural History

MOHAMMAD U. SHADAB

Scientific Assistant, Department of Entomology
The American Museum of Natural History

AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES

NUMBER 2556, pp. 1-14, figs. 1-31
Issued October 23, 1974
Copyright © The American Museum of Natural History 1974

ISSN 0003-0082
Price. $1.05

ABSTRACT

Stenochilidae Thorell, previously considered a
subfamily of Palpimanidae, is again established as
a valid family. The presence of a shared derived
character (prolateral leg scopulae), as well as
numerous differences in carapace shape, number
of thoracic grooves, eye pattern, cheliceral denti-
tion, labial structure, extent of the abdominal
scutum, number of spinnerets, relative leg seg-
ment lengths, and genitalia establish Palpimani-
dae and Stenochilidae as sister groups of equiva-
lent rank and familial status. Major differences in
genitalia and carapace shape are used to con-

struct a probable phylogeny and reclassification
of Stenochilidae. The genus Metronax Simon is
placed as a junior synonym of Stenochilus O.P.-
Cambridge. Two specific names are newly
synonymized: Stenochilus raudus Simon with S.
hobsoni O. P.-Cambridge, and Metronax laetus
Thorell with Colopea pusilla (Simon). Two new
species are described: Stenochilus scutulatus
from northern India and Colopea tuberculata
from Fiji. Genitalic and somatic characters of the
group are illustrated in detail for the first time.

INTRODUCTION

The family Stenochilidae was erected by
Thorell (1873) for the peculiar Indian spider
Stenochilus hobsoni O. P.-Cambridge (1870).
Simon (1884, 1893a) first described three addi-
tional species of Stenochilus from India, Burma,
and the Philippines and later (1893b) established
the genera Metronax and Colopea for those spe-
cies. Thorell (1895, 1897) added another species
from Burma and some new records to Metronax.
Since 1897, the group has remained virtually
without notice from arachnologists.

Although Simon at first accepted Stenochili-
dae (1893a), in his “Histoire naturelle des
Araignées” (1893b) he relegated it to subfamilial
status in Palpimanidae, on the grounds that the
New Zealand genus Huttonia, which he also gave
subfamilial status, was intermediate between the
palpimanids and stenochilids.

In the course of a revision of the Palpimanidae
it has become apparent that each of these three
groups deserves familial status, as Huttonia is not
closely related to either the palpimanids or the
stenochilids, and the differences in both somatic
and genitalic characters between the three groups
are as great or greater than those that separate
other families of spiders. The purposes of the
present paper are to demonstrate the numerous
differences that preclude association of the
stenochilids with the palpimanids, to comment
on the probable phylogeny of this small and un-
usual group, and to present a revision of the
genera and species involved.

This work would not have been possible with-
out the help of other arachnologists in securing
the extremely rare specimens on which it is

based. In addition to specimens in the American —

Museum of Natural History (AMNH), we have
used material supplied by the following curators
and institutions: Dr. M. Hubert, Muséum Nation-
al d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris (MNHN); Dr. H. W.
Levi, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard
University (MCZ); Dr. G. Rack, Zoologisches
Institut und Zoologisches Museum, Universitat
Hamburg (ZMH); Dr. R. X. Schick, California
Academy of Sciences, San Francisco (CAS); Dr.
E. Tortonese, Museo Civico di Storia Naturale,
Genoa (MCSN); Dr. G. C. Varley and Mr. E.
Taylor, Hope Department of Entomology,
Oxford University (HDO); and Mr. F. R. Wanless
and Miss D. Norman, British Museum (Natural
History), London (BMNH). We are especially
grateful to Dr. R. R. Forster of the Otago Mu-
seum, Dunedin, for supplying specimens and in-
formation on Auttonia, and to Dr. J. A. L.
Cooke for providing data on the habitat of
Stenochilus hobsoni.

COMPARATIVE MORPHOLOGY

Stenochilids differ from palpimanids in many
characters. They are instantly recognizable by
their peculiar diamond-shaped carapace, which is
simple in outline in Colopea (figs. 24, 25) and
modified with numerous undulations in Steno-
chilus (figs. 1, 16). In palpimanids, as in most
spiders, the carapace has a simple oval outline. In
addition the stenochilid carapace is unique in
that there are always two thoracic grooves (gen-
erally an anterior groove and a posterior pit)
rather than one. The significance, if any, of the
highly modified carapace, particularly in species
like Stenochilus crocatus (fig. 16), is unknown.

AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES

FIGS. 1-3. Stenochilus hobsoni O. P.-Cambridge. 1. Carapace, dorsal view. 2. Eyes, anterodorsal

view. 3. Sternum, ventral view.

The eye pattern of stenochilids is unlike that
of palpimanids and resembles that of prodi-
domids and some zodariids. The eyes of the right
and left sides form single, continuous, gently
curved rows (figs. 2, 18). In four of the five
known stenochilid species, the posterior median
eyes are unusually long, twice the size of the
others (figs. 1, 16, 24).

In contrast to the palpimanids, the cheliceral
fang furrow has no teeth, but, as in several haplo-
gyne families, does have a basal lamella (fig.
27). Further, stenochilid species may be distin-
guished from palpimanids in that the labium is
not free but completely fused to the sternum
(figs. 3, 26).

Both groups have an anterior abdominal scu-
tum, but in palpimanids the scutum is a ringlike
structure surrounding the entire anterior end of
the abdomen, whereas in stenochilids it is re-
duced to a simple genital plate on the abdominal
venter only.

Some of the most significant differences be-
tween the two groups are in the spinnerets, but
because of the difficulties of examining them in
juveniles and males many important details were
not noticed by workers of the last century. One
of the diagnostic characters of Palpimanidae is
the presence of only two spinnerets, rather than
the normal six. The stenochilids agree in having
two large spinnerets, but differ by possessing
remnants of the four posterior spinnerets as well.

In preserved males the two large spinnerets gener-
ally lie against the anal tubercle, and it is neces-
sary to apply pressure anterior of the large spin-
nerets, forcing them apart, to observe the smaller
structures. The remnants of males are not pro-
vided with spigots and appear nonfunctional. In
females, however, they are considerably larger,
easily visible, equipped with spigots, and fused
into a platelike structure resembling a cribellum,
except, of course, that it is behind, not in front
of, the large spinnerets (figs. 4, 5).

Palpimanids are generally recognized by the
numerous modifications of the first pair of legs,
which are much larger than any of the others.
The relative leg segment lengths of palpimanids
are unique: the patella is greatly elongated,
longer than the tibia, whereas the metatarsus is
greatly shortened, shorter than the tarsus. In ad-
dition the first leg of palpimanids bears a charac-
teristic dense, undivided prolateral scopula. The
stenochilids, however, have both legs I and II
enlarged and bearing scopulae. The relative leg
segment lengths are those of typical spiders, not
palpimanids, and the leg scopulae are divided
into large prolateral and small ventral portions
(fig. 6).

It is in the genitalia that the most convincing
differences occur. The palpimanids are typical
haplogyne spiders: the male palpi lack hemato-
dochae and consist of only a bulb and embolus in
the American species, with a few additional ter-

PLATNICK AND SHADAB : STENOCHILIDAE

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, Fal y
Kan

h af at AS

FIGS. 4-6. Stenochilus hobsoni O. P.-Cambridge. 4. Spinnerets of male, ventral view. 5. Spinnerets
of female, dorsal view. 6. Tarsus and metatarsus I, prolateral view.

minal sclerites in African and Eurasian species;
the bulb is attached to the proximal portion of
the tarsus and is not protected by a cymbium;
the females have no external epigynum and lack
separate fertilization pores. Although stenochilid
females resemble those of palpimanids, the male
palpi are entelegyne, as they have hematodochae,
lie, in their contracted state, in a deep alveolus of
the cymbium, and are expansible (figs. 7, 8, 10,

11, 12). The significance of this difference, and
the doubt it casts on the traditional division of
ecribellate spiders into haplogynes and entele-
gynes, is being fully discussed in a separate paper.

PHYLOGENY

Only one derived character, the prolateral leg
scopula, is found in all three subfamilies of Palpi-

FIGS. 7-9. Stenochilus hobsoni O. P.-Cambridge. 7. Palp, ventral view. 8. Palp, retrolateral view. 9.

Internal female genitalia, dorsal view.

manidae as conceived by Simon. If, however, this
is acknowledged as evidence that the three
groups are monophyletic, we must accept the
fact that as much divergence has occurred within
this “family” of less than a hundred species as
between much larger families of other labido-
gnath spiders. Huttonia differs from palpimanids
and stenochilids in almost every other major
morphological character, including those given
great weight in spider macrotaxonomy, such as
the number of claws and the structure of the
genitalia. As the leg scopula in Huttonia is only a
narrow line of fine setae, quite unlike the dense
brush of palpimanids and stenochilids, it is more
reasonable to assume that this unusual genus had
an independent origin, and that Simon erred in
associating the three groups. For his series ‘‘Spi-
ders of New Zealand,” R. R. Forster is preparing
a detailed study of Huttonia, in which he will
assign it to its own family.

If we assume that the prolateral leg scopulae
of palpimanids and stenochilids do indicate their
common origin, we have abundant evidence that
they are sister groups of equivalent rank. As the
group as a whole must have evolved from a
labidognath ancestor with the normal six spin-
nerets, the presence of remnants of the four
posterior spinnerets indicates that the steno-
chilids diverged from the common stock early in
its history. We can deduce from the present leg
modifications of stenochilids that although at the
time of divergence there was already a clear ten-
dency toward enlargement and modification of
the anterior legs, the greatly enlarged leg I and
the peculiar relative leg segment lengths of
present-day palpimanids had not yet evolved. Ad-
ditional evidence of the relative age of the palpi-
manid-stenochilid divergence is provided by the
numerous somatic and genitalic oddities of the
stenochilids, their almost relictual distributional
pattern (specimens are known from India, south-
east Asia, New Guinea, and the Philippine and
Fiji islands), and by the genitalic diversity of the
extant stenochilids. In future papers we plan to
demonstrate that Simon’s Palpimaninae actually
contains three divergent subfamilies; it is clear
that the sister group of the stenochilids is not
any of these younger, restricted subfamilies but
Palpimanidae as a whole. Although it would be

AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES

possible to consider the palpimanids and steno-
chilids as subfamilies if our restricted subfamilies
were placed as tribes (a category seldom used in

’ spider macrotaxonomy), the resulting family

would be, as is hopefully clear from the morpho-
logical discussions above, out of line with the
amount of divergence within and between other
currently accepted spider families.

Two quite different types of male palpi are
found in the two genera of Stenochilidae. Steno-
chilus males have entelegyne palpi with accessory
sclerites (figs. 7, 13). The palpi of Colopea, how-
ever, are unlike those of any other spider known
to us. At first glance they appear to be those of a
typical haplogyne, what with their large bulbous
tegulum (figs. 19-21, 28-30). Further investi-
gation reveals the presence of an expansible hema-
todocha and the surprising lack of an embolus
(figs. 22, 23). This condition can only be inter-
preted as a secondary reduction in complexity;
we must postulate from the presence of hema-
todochae that earlier in their history Colopea
males had typical entelegyne palpi and that for
some reason both the embolus and all accessory
sclerites have subsequently been lost. How this
palpus functions in transmitting sperm without
an embolus remains a mystery. The tip of the
bulb seems to be porous in nature, and sperm
may be transferred through those pores.

A phylogenetic tree reflecting the probable
evolutionary history of the family is shown in
figure 31. It must be remembered that the
known distribution of these species indicates that
additional species, and possibly genera, may
eventually be found on other Pacific islands. The
initial divergence of Palpimanidae and Steno-
chilidae has been argued above. Both the out-
lined differences in the male genitalia and the
obvious differences in carapace shape (figs. 1, 16,
24, 25) support the Stenochilus-Colopea dichot-
omy. Stenochilus hobsoni and scutulatus resemble
each other closely except for genitalic details and
differ in carapace shape from crocatus.

Stenochilidae, then, may be defined by the
following derived characters: the diamond-
shaped carapace, the two thoracic grooves,
and the presence of hematodochae in the
male genitalia. Palpimanidae, as we restrict it,
is defined by the presence of only two spin-

PLATNICK AND SHADAB : STENOCHILIDAE

FIGS. 10-12. Stenochilus hobsoni O. P.-Cambridge, expanded palp. 10. Prolateral view. 11. Ventral

view. 12. Retrolateral view.

nerets, elongated patellae, and shortened meta-
tarsi, all derived characters. The two groups share
one derived character, the prolateral leg scopulae.

STENOCHILIDAE

Stenochiloidae Thorell, 1873, p. 603.

Stenochilidae: Simon, 1890, p. 81.

Stenochilinae: Simon, 1893b, p. 393. Roewer,
1942, p. 380. Bonnet, 1956-1958, pt. 4, p.
4155.

Diagnosis. Stenochilids are immediately rec-
ognizable by their uniquely diamond-shaped car-
apace (figs. 1, 16, 24, 25). In addition, the pres-
ence of two thoracic grooves, four posterior spin-
neret remnants, and divided prolateral scopulae
on metatarsi I and II are all diagnostic.

Description. Total length 3.5-10 mm. Car-
apace diamond-shaped, widest behind coxae II,
heavily tuberculate, deep red. Two thoracic
grooves, anterior usually slitlike, posterior a pit;
cephalic area only slightly elevated. Anterior eye
row slightly recurved, posterior row strongly pro-
curved; eyes appearing as two curving longitu-
dinal rows; anterior median eyes dark, others
light; posterior medians usually elongate, others
circular. Anterior medians separated by less than
their diameter, closer to anterior laterals; poste-
rior medians separated by their diameter, much
closer to posterior laterals. Median ocular quad-
rangle longer than wide, wider in back than in

front. Clypeal height greater than anterior me-
dian eye diameter. Chelicerae light red, without
marginal teeth, with basal lamella and lateral
stridulating files. Endites light red, convergent,
sharply pointed anteromedially, with greatly re-
duced serrulae. Labium light red, elongate, fused
to sternum. Sternum with pronounced antero-
lateral elevations, sclerotized extensions sur-
rounding coxae and prolonged extension be-
tween coxae IV. Leg formula 1243. Tarsi and
metatarsi I and II with prolateral scopulae, divid-
ed on metatarsi into thick prolateral and thin
ventral portions. Tarsi with two dentate claws
and protruding onychium; claws reduced in size
on legs I and II. Abdomen pale yellow with two
brown oblique dorsal muscle impressions, coated
with dark spinelike setae. Tracheal spiracle slight-
ly anterior of spinnerets, sclerotized. Abdominal
scutum restricted to venter. Two large spinnerets
and four small posterior spinneret remnants,
fused and platelike in females. Palpal femur with
two small stridulating teeth. Female palp with-
out claw.

KEY TO GENERA AND SPECIES
OF STENOCHILIDAE

1. Carapace outline smooth, without undula-

tions (figs. 24,25) ........ Colopea, 2
Carapace outline with undulations (figs. 1,
LGA Seen weer ee cent Soy, Stenochilus, 3

2. Posterior median eyes elongate (fig. 24); tip
of palpal bulb occupying one-fourth length
of bulb (figs. 19-21); internal female geni-
talia as in figure 14; southeast Asia and the
Philippines 2.4 .4..0..4 . 6 ee ee C. pusilla

Posterior median eyes rounded (fig. 25); tip
of palpal bulb occupying less than one-
fourth length of bulb (figs. 28-30); females
unknown; Fiji ......... C. tuberculata

3. Carapace with pronounced undulations and
extended posterior tip (fig. 16); males un-
known; internal female genitalia as in fig-
ure 17; Burma and Cambodia . S. crocatus

Carapace with gentle undulations and without
extended posterior tip (fig. 1); India... .4

4. Palpus with distal prong (figs. 13, 15); females
unknown; northern India... S. scutulatus

Palpus without distal prong (figs. 7, 8); inter-
nal female genitalia as in figure 9; southern
Inditat 8 Te ee ae S. hobsoni

STENOCHILUS

Stenochilus O. P.-Cambridge, 1870, p. 729, pl.
44, fig. 1 (type species by monotypy Steno-
chilus hobsoni O, P.-Cambridge).

Metronax Simon, 1893b, p. 396, figs. 349-353
(type species by original designation Steno-
chilus crocatus Simon). NEW SYNONYMY.

Diagnosis. Species belonging to Stenochilus
may be easily recognized by the laterally undu-
lating margins of the carapace (figs. 1, 16). The
presence of an embolus and accessory sclerites on
the male palpus and an unpaired median sperma-
theca in the internal female genitalia are also di-
agnostic.

Description. Total length 4.6-9.8 mm. Cara-
pace with laterally undulating margins, some-
times extended posteriorly. Dorsal surface of
coxae rough but without distinct tubercles. Tar-
sal onychium clawlike on tarsi I and II. Male pal-
pus with spinelike embolus and conspicuous ter-
minal apophysis. Internal female genitalia con-
sisting of single median spermatheca prolonged
anteriorly into sharp point.

Synonymy. Simon distinguished Metronax
from Stenochilus on the basis of minor differ-
ences in eye relationships. The similarities in car-
apace shape and particularly in the structure of
the internal female genitalia indicate that the
maintenance of a separate genus for crocatus is
unwarranted.

AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES

Stenochilus hobsoni O. P.-Cambridge
Figures 1-12

Stenochilus hobsonii O. P.-Cambridge, 1870, p.
729, pl. 44, fig. 1 (male holotype from
Bombay, Maharashtra, India, in HDO,
examined).

Stenochilus raudus Simon, 1884, p. 368 (male
holotype from “Genji,” probably Gingee, near
Pondicherry, Madras, India, in MNHN, ex-
amined). NEW SYNONYMY.

Metronax raudus: Simon, 1893b, p. 396, fig.
354. Roewer, 1942, p. 380. Bonnet, 1956-
1958, pt. 3, p. 2827.

Stenochilus hobsoni: Simon, 1893b, p. 396.
Roewer, 1942, p. 380. Bonnet, 1956-1958,
pt. 4, p. 4155.

Diagnosis. Stenochilus hobsoni is closely re-
lated to scutulatus, with which it forms a distinct
species group restricted, so far as is known, to
India. Although females of scutulatus are un-
known, the males can be easily distinguished by
the peculiar series of tiny black denticles found
on the prolateral side of the tip of the palpal
bulb in hobsoni. In addition, the two species
seem to be allopatric, hobsoni occurring in south-
ern and scutulatus in northern India.

Male. Total length 4.82-7.42 mm. Carapace
2.20-3.71 mm. long, 1.21-1.94 mm. wide. Femur
I 1.40-2.41 mm. long (five specimens). Palp with
spinelike embolus, ridgelike terminal apophysis,
and anterolateral series of tiny black denticles
(figs. 7, 8; expanded palp, figs. 10-12).

Female. Total length 5.67-6.62 mm. Carapace
2.38-3.35 mm. long, 1.39-1.73 mm. wide. Femur
I 1.58-2.16 mm. long (four specimens). Internal
female genitalia with broad, convex base and
long thin tip, anterior portions unsclerotized
(fig. 9).

Material Examined. India: Andrah Pradesh:
Tirupati, near campus, Dec. 13, 1965 (J. A. L.
Cooke, AMNH), 1 6; Narayana Vanam Kona,
near Tirupati, Jan. 21, 1966 (J. A. L. Cooke,
AMNH), 1 6. Maharashtra: 20 miles north of
Bombay, Jan. 21, 1962, 50 meters (E. S. Ross
and D. Q. Cavagnaro, CAS), 1 9; 3 miles northwest
of Sinnar, Jan. 16, 1962, 700 meters (E. S. Ross
and D. Q. Cavagnaro, CAS), 1 ?; Mahabaleshwar,
Feb. 13, 1962, 1250 meters (E. S. Ross and
D. Q. Cavagnaro, CAS), 1 6, 1 9. Mysore: 5 miles

PLATNICK AND SHADAB : STENOCHILIDAE

FIGS. 13-15. 13, 15. Stenochilus scutulatus, new species, palp. 13. Ventral view. 15. Retrolateral
view. 14. Colopea pusilla (Simon), internal female genitalia, dorsal view.

west of Hunsur, Feb. 24, 1962, 850 meters (E. S.
Ross and D. Q. Cavagnaro, CAS), 1 ?.

Distribution. Southern India (Madras, My-
sore, Andrah Pradesh, and Maharashtra).

Natural History. Cooke supplied the follow-
ing information regarding the habits and habitat
of this species in Andrah Pradesh: “they were
not rare in the area. They were in silk tubes
about 2 inches long or more beneath impacted
large stones on red dusty soil in an area of open
arid (seasonally) scrub land rather like the deserts
of the southwestern United States, with low,
prickly bushes at intervals. At this season the
rains had just stopped, leaving the soil damp for
about a week.”

Synonymy. Simon established raudus on the
basis of discrepancies in eye relationships be-
tween his specimens and Cambridge’s faulty illus-
tration and description. Apparently Simon never
examined the type of hobsoni, which corre-
sponds to raudus in genitalic details, even though
it is somewhat smaller than the other available
males of this species.

Stenochilus scutulatus, new species
Figures 13, 15

Type. Male holotype from south of Pali,
Rajasthan, India, 275 meters (January 8, 1962;

E. S. Ross and D. Q. Cavagnaro), deposited in
CAS.

Etymology. The specific name is from the
Latin scutula (diamond-shaped) and refers to the
shape of the carapace.

Diagnosis. Stenochilus scutulatus is very
closely related to hobsoni, but may be distin-
guished by its pronglike terminal apophysis (figs.
13, 15).

Male. Total length 4.68-5.36 mm. Carapace
2.02-2.36 mm. long, 1.22-1.30 mm. wide. Femur I
1.39-1.58 mm. long (three specimens). Palp with
spinelike embolus and pronglike terminal apoph-
ysis (figs. 13, 15).

Female. Unknown.

Material Examined. India: Rajasthan:
Kishangarh, Jan. 7, 1962, 450 meters (E. S. Ross
and D. Q. Cavagnaro, CAS), 1 6; 2 miles south-
east of Sirohi, Jan. 9, 1962, 450 meters (E. S.
Ross and D. Q. Cavagnaro, CAS), 1 6.

Distribution. Northern India (Rajasthan).

Stenochilus crocatus Simon
Figures 16-18

Stenochilus crocatus Simon, 1884, p. 341, figs.
4, 5 (female holotype from Minhla, Burma, in
MCSN, examined).

Metronax crocatus: Simon, 1893b, p. 396, figs.

10

AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES

FIGS. 16-18. Stenochilus crocatus Simon. 16. Carapace, dorsal view. 17. Internal female genitalia,

dorsal view. 18. Eyes, anterodorsal view.

349-353. Thorell, 1897, p. 192. Roewer,
1942, p. 380. Bonnet, 1956-1958, pt. 3, p.
2827.

Diagnosis. Stenochilus crocatus is a distinc-
tive species easily recognizable by the pro-
nounced undulations and greatly extended poste-
rior tip of the carapace (fig. 16).

Male. Unknown.

Female. Total length 6.59-9.80 mm. Carapace
3.85-4.88 mm. long, 1.80-2.09 mm. wide. Femur
I 2.12-2.68 mm. long (four specimens). Internal
female genitalia with abruptly narrowed base
containing sclerotized duct, and elongate tip
(fig. 17).

Material Examined. Burma: Bhamo, Oct. 20,

FIGS. 19-21. Colopea pusilla (Simon), palp. 19. Prolateral view. 20. Ventral view. 21. Retrolateral

view.

PLATNICK AND SHADAB : STENOCHILIDAE

1]

FIGS. 22-24. Colopea pusilla (Simon). 22, 23. Expanded palp. 22. Prolateral view. 23. Retrolateral

view. 24. Carapace, dorsal view.

1896 (L. Fea, ZMH), 1 penultimate 6, 1 9;
Bhamo (BMNH), 1 ?; Tharrawaddy (BMNH), 1
juvenile. Cambodia: no specific locality (MNHN),
19.

Distribution. Burma and Cambodia.

COLOPEA

Colopea Simon, 1893b, p. 397 (type species
by original designation Stenochilus pusillus
Simon).

Diagnosis. Species belonging to Colopea may
be easily recognized by the absence of lateral
undulations of the carapace margin (figs. 24, 25).
The absence of an embolus and accessory scler-
ites on the male palpus and the presence of paired
spermathecae in the internal female genitalia are
also diagnostic.

Description. Total length 3.5-4.8 mm. Cara-
pace with smooth lateral margins, not extended
posteriorly. Coxae I and II with dorsal tubercles.
Tarsal claws and onychium reduced on anterior
legs. Male palpus without embolus or accessory
sclerites. Internal female genitalia with paired
spermathecae.

Colopea pusilla (Simon)
Figures 14, 19-24

Stenochilus pusillus Simon, 1893a, p. 76 (two

juvenile syntypes from Antipolo, Luzon, the
Philippines, in MNHN, examined).

Colopea pusilla: Simon, 1893b, p. 397. Roewer,
1942, p. 380. Bonnet, 1956-1958, pt. 2, p.
1194,

Metronax laetus Thorell, 1895, p. 18 (juvenile
holotype from Tharrawaddy, Burma, in
BMNH, examined). Roewer, 1942, p. 380.
Bonnet, 1956-1958, pt. 3, p. 2827. NEW
SYNONYMY.

Diagnosis. Colopea pusilla may be distin-
guished from tuberculata by the elongate pos-
terior median eyes, the relatively larger tip of the
palpal bulb (figs. 19-21), and its distribution.

Male: Total length 3.94, 4.61 mm. Carapace
2.02, 2.30 mm. long, 1.40, 1.58 mm. wide. Fe-
mur I 1.48, 1.62 mm. long (two specimens). Pos-
terior median eyes elongate. Tarsi I and II ex-
panded ventrally. Tip of palpal bulb occupying
one-fourth of bulb’s length (figs. 19-21; ex-
panded palp, figs. 22, 23).

Female. Total length 3.56 mm. Carapace 1.76
mm. long, 1.19 mm. wide. Femur I 1.26 mm.
long (one specimen). Eyes and tarsi as in male.
Internal female genitalia with posterolateral
extensions (fig. 14).

Material Examined. Thailand: Bang Phra,
around shores of artificial lake, Jan. 4, 1958 (N.
Meinkoth, MCZ), 1 6; Mae Chiang Hai, July 13,

12

AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES

FIGS. 25-27. Colopea tuberculata, new species. 25. Carapace, dorsal view. 26. Sternum, ventral view.

27. Chelicera, ventral view.

FIGS. 28-30. Colopea tuberculata, new species, palp. 28. Prolateral view. 29. Ventral view. 30.

Retrolateral view.

1962, 200 meters (E. S. Ross and D. Q.
Cavagnaro, CAS), 1 6, 2 juveniles. Malaysia:
Singapore (MNHN), | 9.

Distribution. Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, and
the Philippines.

Synonymy. Thorell’s redescription of Co-
lopea pusilla under a different genus and species is
readily understandable in view of Simon’s failure
to illustrate either the somatic or genitalic char-
acters of the taxon and the rather widespread
distribution of the species.

Discussion. Two juvenile specimens from Port

Moresby, Papua, New Guinea (lent by Dr. R. R.
Forster of the Otago Museum) may belong to
this species, but definite placement must await
the collection of adults on this island.

Colopea tuberculata, new species
Figures 25-30

Type. Male holotype from Nandarivatu, Viti
Levu, Fiji (no date; W. M. Mann), deposited in
MCZ.

Etymology. The specific name is from the

PLATNICK AND SHADAB : STENOCHILIDAE

Vy)

om 3 =

c a =
oUC= o

Ww) J U
oes O

O U &

< Uv) U
hobsoni crocatus
group group

Stenochilus

PALPIMANIDAE

13
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~
oO
>)
joy
= ov
n 2
ON Oe
Colopea

STENOCHILIDAE

FIG. 31. Phylogenetic tree of Stenochilidae. See text for explanation.

Latin tuberculum (tubercle) and refers to the
heavily tuberculate carapace.

Diagnosis. Colopea tuberculata may be distin-
guished from pusilla by the rounded posterior
median eyes and the relatively shorter tip of the
palpal bulb (figs. 28-30).

Male. Total length 4.43, 4.82 mm. Carapace
2.09, 2.41 mm. long, 1.58, 1.69 mm. wide. Fe-

mur I 1.66, 1.69 mm. long (two : decimens). Pos-
terior median eyes rounded. Tarsus I bent retro-
laterally. Tip of palpal bulb occupying less than
one-fourth of bulb’s length (figs. 28-30).

Female. Unknown.

Material Examined. Fiji: Viti Levu (W. M.
Mann, MCZ), 1 6.

Distribution. Fiji.

14

LITERATURE CITED

Bonnet, Pierre

1956-1958. Bibliographia araneorum. Tou-
louse, vol. 2, issued in parts: pt. 2
(1956), pp. 919-1926; pt. 3 (1957), pp.
1927-3026; pt. 4 (1958), pp.
3027-4230.

Cambridge, Octavius Pickard-

1870. On some new genera and species of
Araneida. Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pp.
728-747, pl. 44.

Roewer, Carl F.

1942. Katalog der Araneae. Bremen, vol. 1,

1040 pp.
Simon, Eugene

1884. Arachnides recueillis en Birmanie. Ann.
Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Genova, vol. 20,
pp. 325-372.

AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES

1890. Etude sur les Arachnides de l’Yemen.
Ann. Soc. Ent. France, ser. 6, vol. 10,
pp. 77-124.

1893a. Voyage de M. E. Simon aux iles Phil-
ippines. Ibid., vol. 62, pp. 65-80,
figs. 1-6.

1893b. Histoire naturelle des Araignées. Tou-
louse, vol. 1, pt. 2, pp. 257-488, figs.
216-490.

Thorell, Teodor

1873. Remarks on synonyms of European spi-
ders. Uppsala, pt. 4, pp. 375-645.

1895. Descriptive catalog of the spiders of
Burma. London, 406 pp.

1897. Viaggio di Leonardo Fea in Birmania.
Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Genova, vol.
37, pp. 161-267.

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